Product Review- Kellogg’s Choco Fills

Kellogg;s Choco Fills are sold as a breakfast cereal, and are quite popular amongst kids and adults alike.

The primary ingredients seem to be flour from 3 grains, oils and sugar. The sugar content is very high at 30 percent of the product by weight at 9 gm per 30 gm pack.

Cereals or foods with such high sugar content are not suitable as a breakfast or meal replacement. It is unhealthy and unsafe to have cereals with high sugar content as a frequent breakfast for children or adults. High sugar consumption will lead to a host of lifestyle diseases.

Our recommendation is that even healthy kids and adults should eat this very sparingly and occasionally as a dessert and not as a breakfast or meal replacement.

The product contains edible vegetable oil. Some vegetable oils contain large amounts of biologically active fats called Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which could be harmful in excess. Excess polyunsaturated fats may react with oxygen and oxidised Omega-6 fats can damage body functions and perhaps even vital structures like DNA.

Kellogg’s Choco fills contains palm oil as one of the ingredients which is generally a safe oil as unlike most other vegetable oils, palmolein is primarily saturated fat, it is better suited for cooking. It does not have too much PUFA, which can get oxidized under heat and is often rendered toxic.

However, last year, the safety authority delivered a scientific report that current levels of glycerol-based process contaminants found in palm oil are a “potential health concern.” Animal studies have identified these contaminants, which are formed when vegetable oils are heated to high temperatures and then refined, as both genotoxic (damaging to DNA) and carcinogenic (causing cancer). Of all vegetable oils, palm oil was found to have the highest levels of these contaminants. At high levels of exposure, these contaminants are a health hazard for all age groups, the authority concluded, expressing particular concern for infants, toddlers and children under the age of 10.

The foodnetindia rating for this product:-

foodnetindia safety rating: 2 -(On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unsafe to very safe)

Kelloggs Choco fills cannot be considered as a safe breakfast replacement as it is very sugary and simple starch heavy with poor nutritional diversity. As most people who consume this product do so as a meal replacement and not as a dessert, we are forced to give this a very low safety rating.

This product contains edible vegetable oil which may contain Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which could be harmful in excess. Excess polyunsaturated fats may react with oxygen and oxidised Omega-6 fats can damage body functions and perhaps even vital structures like DNA. Consumers should take action to maintain a healthy balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid consumption.

foodnetindia wholesomeness rating:4 – (On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unbalanced nutrition profile to excellent nutrition profile)

This food contains wholesome cocoa solids and milk solids, but has high amount of sugar in it.It is a very starchy and sugary product with very little nutritional diversity. This should be eaten only as a small part of an otherwise wholesome meal plan that includes abundant protein, vegetables, fruit and healthy fats; and even then not as a meal replacement but as a dessert.

Kelloggs Choco fills contains 9 gm sugar per 30 gm. Some foods use high fructose corn syrup which may be harmful in much lower quantities than sucrose. Excessive sugar consumption is linked to a wide variety of metabolic diseases.

Edible Vegetable Oil-Sunflower oil

Certain vegetable oils contain very large amounts of biologically active fats called Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which could be harmful in excess. Excess polyunsaturated fats may react with oxygen and oxidised Omega-6 fats can damage body functions and perhaps even vital structures like DNA. In addition, consumers need clear information about the type of vegetable oil used, so that they can take action to maintain a healthy balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid consumption.

Other ingredients that are in the product but not a major source of concern in our opinion are:

Disclaimer – The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information. foodnetindia encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

The ingredients list of the products may have changed since this page was published. Consumers are encouraged to read warnings, labels, ingredient lists, etc.